Window Shopping: Kingdom Without a King- Part 7

The three of us trudged back the very same way we had entered this land hours before. In the midst of a remote snow field stood a window of miraculous qualities. An ordinary window it was not.

When we stepped in front of the window-like portal, Praesus, myself, and even Old Rufus the dog, noticed a problem. Namely, that the portal, instead of showing us view of the interior of Praesus’ chamber, from where we had traveled, showed only a fuzzy grey-black smudge. It reminded me of an old television set whose picture tube had just burnt out.

“Can we go through that?” I asked Praesus.

Carefully, he prodded it with his club as Rufus sniffed its edges. “Solid, it does not appear we can enter.”

“No you may not enter, for you still have dealings with us…”

The voice behind us sounded familiar, however, I couldn’t quite place it.

“Hands up this time please!”

“Oh, the lovely lady archer.” I raised my hands and turned. Praesus did the same, although he harbored his typical look of chiseled anger. Rufus simply patted before us, the look in his eyes seemed to indicate he knew how all of this was going to end.

“Your plague sorcery has decimated my home, and…” the young woman grew emotional, but caught herself just before tears, “and you’ve cursed my brother. You will come with me, or you will die where you stand.”

“Young madam,” Praesus said stepping forward, “on your authority alone we will be doin’ no such thing.”

The archer confidently whistled between her fingers, and a bevy of troops appeared against the cold breaking wind. They all showed gritted teeth and an array of readied weapons.

“That increases your authority substantially, I assume you’ll be escorting us back to the prison quarters?” I asked.

She motioned back the way we had come with bow drawn, “March, and be quiet as yer doing it.” Her reinforcements fell in behind her as we all headed back to the fort we had only escaped from minutes ago.

*

Back at the prison cell that I had broken out of earlier that day, the lady archer sat in front of Praesus and I on an old stool, only a set of time-weathered bars between us. The quarters smelled of shit and our own failure, the scents so entangled I couldn’t separate the two.

How could we let this woman follow us, and then subdue us?

I saw Old Rufus beyond the prison bars, chained just out of our reach

“I know what you’re askin’ yourself,” Praesus said, in spite of the woman listening to our every word.

“What?”

“How could we let this lone archer, and her band of merry idiots capture us?”

Surprised, I answered, “Actually, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Do tell…”

“We’re cursed young squire.”

“Eh, say again?”

“We’re cursed you and I, the two of us I mean, our working in tandem.”

“Right, and just how do you know this?” I spoke making sure Praesus would be well aware of my skepticism.

“No more talk.” the lady archer stood, as some noise came from the front of the prison. We heard a door open, the kind of sound you’d expect, ancient and medieval, hinged metal grinding against one another for the same space.

The lady archer shouted up the steps, “How is he? Is he ready?” her voice wavered with feeling.

Two guards came into view, they were escorting what looked to be another prisoner. With a closer look, I realized one of the guards was the man I had covered in Praesus’ elimination in order to prompt our earlier escape. They led, what I assumed was a man, down the corridor. Whoever he was, if it was in fact a he, was covered in a metal shroud that ended just below his neck. The contraption was something from Dumas' nightmares. This new prisoners hands were bound behind him, with a copious amount of chain.

They stopped in front of our cell, the now cleaned guard spoke to the lady archer, “He’s no better or no worse madam.”   

“Looks like we gettin’ a roomie squire.”

I didn’t fully realize what was happening until this new and mysterious prisoner turned towards me. The metal mask fastened to his head, had a narrow gap at eye level. Despite it’s small size, I could see a pair of those telltale green eyes glowing from within.

The lady archer nodded to the guards, one swung open our cell, the other unclasped the fastening mechanisms that held the mask on, letting it clang to the floor. Together they pushed the man into the cell Praesus and I shared. Without the mask, I recognized him instantly; Anton Allaine, the man who was commanding the opposing troops during our escape.

The lady archer’s resemblance to him was uncanny. As she leveled a finger at me, I saw the same sureness, same proud stance. In much the same way her brother had, she introduced herself, “You left my brother for dead and he ended up a ghoul. I, Asta Allaine would have you restore him or perish.”

Window Shopping: Kingdom Without a King- Part 6

A man stood over me, sword to my throat. He and his troops had myself, Praesus and Old Rufus surrounded. I looked around, wanting, waiting for someone, something to swoop into the cramped courtyard and save us.

I stared up at the sun, felt the wind against my skin for perhaps the last time.

The man looked down on me with contempt, “You coward, can you not even bear to look your vindicator in the eyes? Are you not man enough to accept your punishment?” Anton Allaine waited for my response, his face held a look of smugness. The look fit him well.

Smiling, I blurted out something that I thought was both clever and displayed my keen sense of bravado, “You’re all doomed.”

Anton Allaine was able to ask, “Just what might you be referring to?” before all hell broke loose in that courtyard.

From behind the gathering of men that aimed to kill us, rose the corpses of Garreth Lee and Jonathan Tomy. Their skin now pocked and grey, their eyes filled with what was becoming to me at least, a familiar green glow.

I didn’t yet fully understand it, but inherently I knew, in death they belonged to me now, they were under my control. Puppet-ghouls that moved as I wished, did what I commanded. My disbelief was only rivaled by my ignorance of how I was controlling them. I wanted to solve that mystery, but something deep within suggested that I not think about it too much.

Zombie Harold Rambly rose again as well, he had fed (ironically on Jonathan Tomy) and seemed more responsive. His shambling had faded, he now walked upright coated in the crimson remnants of his meal.

With nothing but the power of my mind I willed them to attack Allaine and his party.

They never saw it coming. Through my peripheral vision, I even saw Praesus appear to wince as Rambly casually grabbed the arm of an unwitting archer and chomped down on it as though it were a hunk of turkey leg. Zombie Jonathan and Zombie Garreth followed suit, tearing into two more guards like they were cattle. The screams began, and escalated from there. Even those that weren’t being attacked could not seem to fathom what was happening around them. They seemed to question their former comrades rising from the dead, and snacking on them as a tad unusual, go figure.

Allaine turned away from me long enough to take in the gruesome display behind him. With a snap he turned back to me, “What sorcery--”

“Is this?” I met him halfway through the line. “Ya, I get that a lot lately. Why is that such a popular saying here?”

Allaine was through talking, he raised his sword and swiped downward, aiming to cleave me in two. I rolled aside, the only thing his sword met was the recently deceased corpse of one, Miguel Cervantes. I watched as Allaine’s sword cut a jagged path into Cervantes’ torso, rending the flesh from the deltoid to the superior portion of pectoralis major. Zombie Cervantes gripped the sword’s blade with both hands with an otherworldly focus. The zombie attempted to wrench the sword up and out of its own flesh. This only served to increase the spilled blood and saw the flesh from his palms. Had he been living the pain would have been immeasurable. However, throughout the entire ordeal the Zombie Cervantes stared blankly ahead at Allaine with those green eyes burning. Allaine, aghast and puzzled could only stare back, watching the creature feebly attempt to remove the sword from its body.  

Amidst the chaos, I scrambled backwards in the dirt, signaling to Rufus and Praesus that it was time we go. As more soldiers perished, I took control of them as well, swelling the zombie ranks to six, then seven, then eight. I made them all feed in gory fashion.

The three of us darted for the gate, Praesus maneuvering to the hand crank that would operate the gate’s mechanism.

“Work your magic big man.” I hollered, as the screams to our rear served to punctuate my sentence.

I noticed Praesus did not even make eye contact, let alone respond. Yet, he did begin turning the massive hand crank, and the gate began to open enough for the three of us to slip past.

As we left the courtyard behind, I couldn't help but look at the mayhem once more. Mayhem I had unleashed. I saw Anton Allaine being swarmed by death in the forms of those he had once lived with side by side. His sword swings were wild and ineffective, he backed up, likely overcome by fear and mania at what he was seeing.

Allaine might find it comforting that although he had to bear witness, he was not the one responsible for such macabre actions.  

My last image was of two zombies towering over him as he fell onto his backside. Arms outstretched, Allaine attempted to beg off, I could only assume the zombies were not apt to accept his pleas.

As Praesus and I breached the gate, with Rufus in tow, he asked me, “Where to now?”

“That depends, am I to guess that you are no longer interested in killing me?” I asked this of Praesus.

“I feel our debts are settled, I no longer have reason to.”

Instantly, I thought that Praesus was still unaware that Old Rufus and I had left his brother for dead. I didn't dare speak this fact aloud.

Praesus noted my sudden quiet, “You don’t have a response to that?”

“I think I appreciate that fact,” It sounded ridiculous even in thought, but I hadn’t even had a moment to think about Praesus’ brother, it seemed like so long ago, so much had happened since then, non-stop. I hadn’t even time to think, and barely had time to remember. Although, our reasons were strong ones, the choices we made still left Praesus minus one brother.

“Then I will accompany you, until such a time as we can get back to my home. Today at least I am in your debt. Where would you have us go?”

Contemplating, I looked down at Old Rufus and stroked his fur, “Your home is exactly where we need to head back to. I suspect that Helena and Thaddeus knew more about my arrival then they let on.”

“I would guarantee that to be true.” Praesus said knowingly.

“Then we make our way back to their cabin, and drop in for a visit.”